Athletes Beyond Bartow: Lawrence leads Clemson to national title
Former Cartersville High School quarterback, now Clemson star, Trevor Lawrence was named Offensive MVP as the Tigers defeated Alabama 44-16 last Monday in the College Football Playoffs National Championship Game. His former Canes' teammate, Miller Forristall, saw action for the Crimson Tide and was on the field for one of Alabama's touchdowns. Meanwhile on the hardwoods, multiple local athletes had impressive performances this past week.
PRO BASKETBALL
ELIJAH ROBINSON (Club Atletico Villa San Martin, Argentina; Excel Christian) — After a nearly monthlong layoff, Robinson scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists in last Friday’s 78-67 win at Lactear. Villa San Martin (10-6) will travel to Hindu on Saturday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
MARK CHESTER (Georgia Northwestern Fr., Cass) — Chester scored eight points, but the Bobcats fell 91-71 to The Crown College (TN) Friday in their first game following winter break.
RYAN DAVIS (Francis Marion Sr., Cartersville) — Davis posted a career-high 31 points in a 98-80 win over Clayton State on Saturday. He sank 17-of-18 free throws in the game to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Davis had 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds earlier in the week in a 99-92 triumph over USC-Aiken.
ASHTON HAGANS (Kentucky Fr., Cartersville native) — Hagans was named SEC Freshman of the Week after helping lead Kentucky to a pair of victories against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. Against the Aggies, he set a career high with 18 points and added five assists and five steals. Hagans finished with 15 points, four assists and five steals versus the Commodores.
KIMORA McCLINIC (Middle Georgia State So., Cartersville) — McClinic played five scoreless minutes with one assist in a 78-60 loss to Mobile on Thursday. She bounced back to put up three points, two rebounds and one assist over 13 minutes in a 65-45 loss to Stillman on Saturday.
JANA MORNING (Berry College So., Cass) — Morning finished with five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in a 67-47 loss to Sewanee on Friday. She posted 10 points, seven boards, two assists and four steals on Sunday, as Berry defeated Centre by a 50-46 final score.
JONATHAN PRITCHETT (Vermont Tech So., Woodland) — Pritchett started all three games in a week when Vermont Tech went 3-0. In total, he put up nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
JAYLON PUGH (Furman Fr., Cartersville) — Pugh knocked down two free throws and added four rebounds and two assists in seven minutes during Furman's 89-57 Thursday victory over Virginia Military Institute. He didn't see any time in Furman's 89-79 loss to UNC-Greensboro on Saturday.
JOSIE SUMMERVILLE (North Park Fr., Adairsville) — Summerville posted double-doubles, while making two-thirds of her shot attempts, in each of North Park's two games this past week. She finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 93-60 loss to Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday. Summerville added 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 70-69 road win over Carroll (WI) on Saturday.
DARIUS THROWER (Truett McConnell Jr., Excel Christian) — Thrower played at least 24 minutes off the bench in each of Truett McConnell's three games during the past week. He had 16 points, two rebounds and an assist in last Tuesday's 93-86 loss to Reinhardt; he finished with eight points, one rebound and two assists in a 72-60 win over Bryan (Tennessee) on Thursday; and he added 11 points, one rebound and two assists in Saturday's 78-73 defeat against Columbia International (SC).
CARROD WATSON (North Georgia Jr., Woodland) — Watson racked up 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and seven rebounds in 17 minutes in a 96-88 loss to USC-Aiken on Saturday. He didn't see any action in a 76-67 defeat at the hands of Columbus State on Wednesday.
FOOTBALL
MILLER FORRISTALL (Alabama R-So., Cartersville) — Forristall saw action in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, including being on the field during one of the Crimson Tide's two touchdowns.
TREVOR LAWRENCE (Clemson Fr., Cartersville) — Lawrence became just the second true freshman quarterback to start, finish and win a national championship game. Lawrence overcame a slow start to post a line of 20-for-32 passing, 347 yards and three touchdowns through the air in the CFP title game. He had no turnovers and was named offensive MVP after Clemson routed Alabama, 44-16. His first touchdown pass was a 5-yard shovel pass to Travis Etienne to extend the Tigers lead to 28-16 with 4:38 left in the first half. He connected with Justyn Ross for a dagger 74-yard touchdown for a 34-16 lead with 8:26 to go in the third quarter. In the waning seconds of the third period, Lawrence capped his night with another 5-yard scoring pass — this time to Tee Higgins.
WRESTLING
JAKE HUFFINE (Chattanooga Jr., Woodland) — Huffine went 1-3 at 133-pound weight division over the weekend at the Virginia Duals in Hampton. Chattanooga fell to a pair of top-16 teams in the country in No. 11 Virginia Tech and 16th-ranked Arizona State. In between, the Mocs defeated Kent State before finishing up the event with a narrow loss to Old Dominion. Huffine lost to No. 15 ranked Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech in a 6-1 decision, to Tim Rooney of Kent State in a 6-3 decision and Josiah Kline of Arizona State in a 9-4 decision. He emerged victorious against Kilian Cardinale of Old Dominion with a narrow 4-3 decision. The Mocs begin Southern Conference action with a home dual against Virginia Military Institute on Sunday.
This week's updates provided by Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News.
